PRESS RELEASE
9th September, 2025.
CITIZENS’ BUDGET OR ELITES’ FAVOUR? – A CHARS-AFRICA RESPONSE TO ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT’S 2026 BUDGET PROMISE
The African Centre for Human Advancement and Resource Support (CHARS-Africa) commends the Abia State Government for reiterating its commitment to producing a “citizens’ budget” for 2026, as announced by the Honourable Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Kingsley Anosike, during the one-day citizens’ engagement forum in Umuahia on the 5th of September, 2025. This posture, if genuinely pursued, aligns with the spirit of participatory democracy enshrined under Section 14(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which vests sovereignty in the people and demands that government be accountable and responsive to their needs.
However, while we applaud the intent, we equally posit that it is not enough to convene isolated “citizens’ fora” and declare such, participatory.
A true citizens’ budget is not an afterthought, but a living instrument that reflects continuous, structured, and transparent engagement with the people throughout the entire stages of the budget cycle: needs assessment; formulation; legislative passage; and crucially, during implementation and monitoring.
International best practice, such as those espoused by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to which Abia State subscribes, clearly provides that a citizens’ budget must be:
1. Inclusive: engaging vulnerable groups (women, youth, persons with disabilities, rural dwellers) beyond political or elite structures.
2. Accessible: published in simplified language, possibly with infographics, translations into local languages, and dissemination through community radio and town unions.
3. Actionable: backed with mechanisms for citizens to monitor execution and demand accountability.
It is not sufficient, as the Commissioner disclosed, that citizen input influenced “approximately five percent” of the 2025 budget. Such a figure proves the reality that citizens are still treated as guests in the budgeting process, rather than as owners. Section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution mandates the state to “control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen,” and this requires a deeper process than token consultations.
We therefore urge Governor Alex Otti’s administration to:
1. Conduct Comprehensive Community Needs Assessments: Participatory rural appraisal tools should be deployed across LGAs, to ensure that budget priorities reflect verifiable community needs rather than elite lobbying.
2. Institutionalise Budget Hearings at the House of Assembly: Civil society and community representatives should be given slots to present inputs before passage of the Appropriation Bill.
3. Ensure Mid-Year and End-Year Citizen Reviews: As part of transparency and fiscal responsibility obligations under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, Government has to present periodic implementation scorecards for citizen validation.
4. Publish a Simplified Citizens’ Budget – In reader-friendly formats: Infographics, and readily understandable translations should be used, to allow ordinary Abians (community leaders, market women, artisans, students, farmers) to read, understand, and interrogate the budget.
A citizens’ budget is not a favour but a right derived from constitutional provisions for participation, accountability, and transparency. Anything short of this risks reducing the initiative to another elite-driven ritual masked in the rhetoric of people-centered governance.
In conclusion, CHARS-Africa opines that for the 2026 budget to be truly people’s budget, it must pass the test of inclusivity, transparency, and accessibility, and be backed by genuine accountability mechanisms. The state government must match words with deeds, ensuring that the citizens are not merely consulted, but are at the very heart of fiscal decision-making.
Signed:
Amaka Biachi Esq Executive Director, CHARS-Africa
charsafrica.ng@gmail.com
